Pusha T kicked off the rollout to his anticipated DAYTONA follow-up on Tuesday (February 8) with the release of “Diet Coke.” The hard-hitting production synced with Pusha’s drug-laced rhymes was actually crafted by 88-Keys in 2004 along with some recent tweaks from Kanye West.
88-Keys took to Instagram on Monday (February 7) prior to the single’s arrival to provide some backstory on the track’s history and how it came into fruition and in the hands of Pusha T over a decade later.
“I made the beat 18 years ago. It was an interlude that I made for my beat tape,” he said. “And the name of my beat tape was The Makings Of Crack-Cocaine. How funny is that… I don’t even think I sold any beats off of it. Until now, 18 years later.”
The 18-year-old beat dusted off is sounding as fresh as ever with additional vocals from Fat Joe and early returns find fans giving “Diet Coke” their stamp of approval.
Pusha T Drops 'Diet Coke' Single Produced By Kanye West & 88-Keys: Listen Now
Even though he only provided co-production, Kanye West also makes a guest appearance in the black-and-white music video directed by Omar Jones and Onda.
Pusha T season is underway and his album should arrive in the first half of 2022. While the contract he posted clouded his label situation, streaming services find “Diet Coke” to be released under Def Jam and G.O.O.D. Music still.
Prior to King Push, all eyes are on Kanye West with DONDA 2 slated to release on February 22. Look for long-time Ye collaborator 88 Keys to also garner additional production credits on the Donda sequel.
The other producer that went by 88 Keys out of Milwaukee was way doper. It’s sad when the people who should be poppin’ don’t, and then to add insult to injury, somebody with the same name is the one who actually got on and flourished.
You talking about A-G-2-A-Ke, right? I honestly thought it was the same dude since they both have the same name and started around ‘98. Discovered them through the “My Homies” album.
Yep. Not the same person. It’s two different producers. The one here is from NY. The other guy was from Milwaukee and had the group with the rapper while he produced all of the tracks. I figured this out when I tried to check him out a few years after their Rap-a-Lot deal and discovered the other one and was wondering why the sound was so different.